News
Russia bans driftnet fishing, a reprieve for seabirds and marine mammals
On July 1, President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law banning driftnet fishing in Russian waters.
Driftnets, floating walls of net that are nearly invisible underwater, can be 12 meters high and many kilometers long. They are a kind of gillnet, a mesh that captures fish by the gills, and are primarily used to target large schools of fish. But driftnets are notorious for trapping unintended marine life, including porpoises, dolphins, sea turtles, and an estimated 400,000 seabirds around the world each year, according to the conservation group Birdlife International. Their use has been banned or restricted in many countries territorial waters, and was banned on the high seas in 1992.
In Russia, driftnets are used by Russian and Japanese fishers to capture salmon in the country’s Far East. The ban was reportedly intended in part to make more fish available to Russia’s coastal salmon fishermen, who employ other fishing methods but whose catches have dropped as a result of driftnetting. It will take effect in January, 2016.
Tufted puffins in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The species is commonly caught in driftnet salmon fishing gear in the waters off Russia’s far eastern shore. Photo credit: Steve Ebbert, USFWS.
BirdLife International estimates that 140,000 seabirds become trapped and die in driftnets each year in the region, the highest toll of any region globally. Heavily hit species include tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata), short-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris), thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia), and crested auklets (Aethia cristatella).
Marine mammals that will benefit from the ban include strikingly marked Dall’s porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli) and ribbon seals (Histriophoca fasciata), as well as Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), according to the group.
An adult male ribbon seal in eastern Russia’s Ozernoy Gulf. Ribbon seals and other marine mammals can become entangled and drown in driftnet fishing gear. Photo credit: Michael Cameron, NOAA/NMFS/AKFSC/NMML.
“The banning of these huge nets in Russian waters is fantastic for an array of wildlife in the northwest Pacific and we support the closure of a fishery with such severe collateral damage to marine wildlife,” said Cleo Small, Head of BirdLife’s Marine Programme, in a statement.
 Thick-billed murres, another seabird species often caught in driftnet salmon-fishing gear in Russia waters. Photo credit: Josh Keaton, NOAA/NMFS/AKRO/SFD. |
Other environmental advocates are hailing the ban, as well. “The ban on driftnet fishingl [sic] is a big win for anyone who cares about the conservation of birds, salmon and porpoises in the Russian Far East,” Sergey Korostelev, the Marine Program Coordinator of WWF’s Kamchatka Bering Sea Ecoregional Office, said in a statement. The group has advocated for such a ban for many years.
The ban has reportedly strained relations between Russia and Japan, whose fishermen, particularly from the northern island of Hokkaido, have fished salmon with driftnets in Russian waters since the 1990s.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga stated last week at a press conference that the law “gives rise to the utmost regret,” according to The Moscow Times. It and other outlets have reported that the ban will cost Japan $200 million.
Crested Auklets in Russia’s Kuril Islands. Photo credit: Austronesian Expeditions.
Article by Rebecca Kessler. Republished courtesy of Mongabay.org.
Fire on Monroe Bravo is the latest book in the Jack Collier series by Fred Lockwood. Our story begins with our lead characters, Jack and Sandro, owners of Marine Salvage & Investigation Company, arriving on the Monroe Bravo Oil & Gas Platform in the North Sea. Having secured a contract for their vessel the MV Stavanger to act as support ship to the platform for TransGlobal Oil, our protagonists are on a celebratory visit.
However almost as soon as they arrive a series of explosions rock the platform, causing huge damage, loss of life and the very real danger of a massive human, ecological and financial disaster.
As the danger mounts for both our heroes and the surviving workers, Jack and Sandro will have to escape the inferno, all while trying to save the platform and the men still trapped unable to help themselves.
The disaster sets the scene for the unfolding story lines following the fate of the platform and our main characters, the police investigation into a suspected terrorist act and the actions of TransGlobal Oil as they attempt to navigate the pubic outcry and financial repercussions.
In his eighth book, Fire on Monroe Bravo, Fred Lockwood delivers an explosive thriller, with plenty of above and in-water drama, and our heroes fighting for survival, what more can you ask for?
We thoroughly recommend this read and look forward to the next in the series. For more information about his book series, you can check out the reviews of his previous books here on Scubaverse.
- Title: Fire On Monroe Bravo
- Author: Fred Lockwood
- ISBN: 979-8325324536
Available in a paperback version and for Kindle from Amazon and book stores.
In June we were incredibly fortunate to be invited to dive in Alonissos, a small Greek Island in the Sporades island chain located in the North Aegean Sea. While I have long been a big fan of the Greek Islands as a great holiday destination, I had not had the opportunity to do any diving on previous visits and Mike and I were extremely excited to see what Alonissos had to offer both above and below the surface!
The Sporades are easily accessible via the airport in Skiathos (the first island in the chain), which is served by Jet2 flights from all major UK airports from May through October. Numerous ferries and charter boats make island hopping from Skiathos Town a breeze. After an hour boat ride, the picturesque port of Patitiri was a wonderful introduction to Alonissos, where we were met by our gracious hosts Kostas of Albedo Travel and Dias of Alonissos Triton Dive Center. Mike and I were delighted to be staying at the Paradise Hotel, aptly named for its stunning views over the sea and great location for walking to the waterfront.
Alonissos is beautifully situated in the National Marine Park of Alonissos and the Northern Sporades, the largest marine protected area in Europe. The surrounding seas offer fabulous marine life, including incredibly rare species such as the Mediterranean monk seal. They boast deep walls covered in gorgonians and sponges, stunning topography with caverns, swimthroughs and pinnacles, and the first accessible ancient shipwreck from 500BC!
In locations where historical sites have been reported, the waters are largely restricted, but with collaboration between government, underwater archeologists and dive centres, incredible underwater museums are being created for a truly unique diving experience. Alonissos is home to the first of these, the Ancient Shipwreck of Peristera Accessible Underwater Archeological Site. The chance to dive into history (along with reports of healthy reef life and amazing underwater topography) meant Mike and I were keen to get in the water.
Our introduction to the diving around Alonissos was at the Agios Georgios Pinnacles, in the channel between Alonissos and Skopelos. This fantastic site was named “The Chimney,’ and proved to have a huge amount to see. We got to a decent depth here (over 25m), and marvelled at a colourful reef wall with a wonderful swim through whose rocky walls were absolutely covered with life. As well as brilliant topography there was no shortage of macro life here. We saw numerous nudibranchs, five different species in total. The second dive at Mourtias reef nearby was a shallower dive along a nice wall with lots of crevices. Several moray eels and grouper called this site home. We enjoyed looking in the crevices for lobster and smaller benthic life, such as cup corals and tunicates.
Our itinerary allowed us two dives a day with afternoons left to explore the island with our hire car and evenings to enjoy the famous Greek hospitality. This proved to be a lovely mix of in-water and land based diversions.
The next days diving to the Gorgonian Gardens and Triton’s Cave was to be even better! These two stunning sites are nothing short of fabulous. The Gorgonian Gardens was a deep wall near to the Agios Georgios islands. The ever-present currents in this deep channel meant that the sea life was amazing … the namesake Gorgonian sea fans dotted the wall at a depth of 30 to 50 meters, getting ever larger the deeper we went. Above 30m was by no means less beautiful, with sponges, corals, scorpionfish, moray eels and some rare and colourful nudibranchs.
The second shallower dive of the day was to Triton’s Cave or the Cavern of Skopelos, on the east side of that island. The spectacular rock formations had wild striations both above and below the water making a truly epic topography. The cavern entrance was at 14m, and big enough for a buddy pair, winding up to 6m and passing two beautiful windows out into the blue. Emerging from the cavern, the light at the shallower depths and the incredible rock formations made for a fantastic gentle swimming safety stop and we all surfaced by the boat with massive grins.
Check out our next blog :Alonissos: The complete diving destination (Part 2)” to hear about our amazing dive on the 2500 year old Peristera Wreck!
Thanks to:
Alonissos Triton Dive Center https://bestdivingingreece.com/
Albedo Travel https://alonissosholidays.com/activities/
Paradise Hotel https://paradise-hotel.gr/
Alonissos Municipality https://alonissos.gr/en/
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